Persa Impresses

NU Sports

08/22/2009

Backup quarterback Dan Persa was among those who had stellar Saturday scrimmages at Kenosha. In this Camp Report, see who else shined in the scrimmage, and who, along with Corey Wootton, was held out of the action.

Courtesy NU Sports.

KENOSHA, Wis. -- Northwestern held its annual Camp Kenosha scrimmage Saturday afternoon at Tremper High School, with both the offense and the defense putting up strong efforts during nine separate series of play.

"We've worked a lot in 11-on-11 the last three days in practice but we have plenty more to do,"
head coach Pat Fitzgerald said. "I saw some good things and I saw guys competing hard. This was a
good chance to see some different combinations and see how guys react in certain situations."

The first series of the day ended when a Mike Kafka pass was picked off by Kenosha native Ben Johnson and returned 62 yards for a touchdown in the only series Kafka would play on the day. Dan Persa then led back-to-back drives that ended in touchdowns for the offense. The first was a
7-play, 74-yard effort that concluded on a 38-yard post-route hook up from Persa to Kevin Frymire. Persa was 3-for-3 through the air for 57 yards on the drive.

The offense then scored again on a 12-play, 59-yard drive capped by a 9-yard completion from Persa to Zeke Markshausen.

The offense made it three TD's in a row when freshman Evan Watkins led a 10-play, 76-yard scoring drive on the next possession, concluding when Alex Daniel scampered eight yards to pay dirt. Watkins was 3-for-4 for 27 yards and also rushed twice for 34 yards (including a 23 yard scramble on third down) on the drive.

The defense kept the offense out of the end zone on the next four drives, including three
3-and-outs. On the final drive of the afternoon, Watkins took the offense 79 yards in 16 plays to
score on a 2-yard Jacob Schmidt plunge. Schmidt ran seven times for 31 yards on the final drive,
which was kept going by a defensive "penalty" on third-and-seven from the 42-yard line. Schmidt's
run was set up by a pass interference penalty in the end zone in which John Plasencia nearly made
an incredible catch, reaching around Cooper Gerami and pinning the ball to the defender's back
before falling to the ground and attempting to tap the ball to himself as he fell.

Evan Luxenburg recorded the afternoon's only sack, getting to Watkins on third down to force a
42-yard field goal attempt, which was nailed by Steve Flaherty.

Roderick Goodlow drilled Alex Daniel on a rush to force a fumble. On the afternoon the offense made four fumbles but lost none.

Overall, the defense forced four 3-and-out series and ended another via the Johnson interception.

Scrimmage Notes:

After being held for several years at Carthage College, the pre-season scrimmage was moved to
Tremper farther south in Kenosha. The NU athletic department provided free Hecky's BBQ to fans, who
numbered a little on the north side of 500 on a chilly Saturday afternoon in Wisconsin.

Each team was guaranteed a minimum of six plays per drive, meaning if the offense went 3-and-out immediately, they were allowed to begin a new set of downs instead of yielding the field to the next team.